Conditioning apparatus for conditioning polishing pad

Abstract

A conditioning apparatus for conditioning a polishing pad includes a housing including an internal space formed along a longitudinal direction, a conditioning member connected to the housing and configured to condition a surface of the polishing pad, a cylinder member arranged to be movable along a first direction parallel to the longitudinal direction in the internal space of the housing, a first pressing member connected to the cylinder member and configured to press the conditioning member by movement of the cylinder member along the first direction, and a stopper member arranged to be movable along a second direction parallel to the first direction in the internal space of the housing so that a position of the first pressing member reaches a target position. In addition to these, various other embodiments may be possible.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A conditioning apparatus for conditioning a polishing pad, the conditioning apparatus comprising:
 a housing comprising an internal space formed along a longitudinal direction;   a conditioning member connected to the housing and configured to condition a surface of the polishing pad;   a cylinder member arranged to be movable along a first direction parallel to the longitudinal direction in the internal space of the housing;   a first pressing member connected to the cylinder member and configured to press the conditioning member by movement of the cylinder member along the first direction; and   a stopper member arranged to be movable along a second direction parallel to the first direction in the internal space of the housing so that a position of the first pressing member reaches a target position.   
     
     
         2 . The conditioning apparatus of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 a second pressing member arranged in the internal space of the housing and configured to press the first pressing member by movement of the stopper member along the second direction.   
     
     
         3 . The conditioning apparatus of  claim 2 , further comprising:
 a photo sensor arranged between the second pressing member and the stopper member and configured to detect an origin position of the stopper member.   
     
     
         4 . The conditioning apparatus of  claim 3 , further comprising:
 a monitoring sensor configured to monitor the position of the first pressing member,   wherein the stopper member moves based on the position of the first pressing member monitored by the monitoring sensor.   
     
     
         5 . The conditioning apparatus of  claim 4 , further comprising:
 a load cell sensor configured to monitor flatness of the surface of the polishing pad.   
     
     
         6 . The conditioning apparatus of  claim 4 , further comprising:
 a control motor configured to change a position of the stopper member based on the position of the first pressing member monitored by the monitoring sensor.   
     
     
         7 . The conditioning apparatus of  claim 6 , wherein
 the control motor is configured to, when the position of the first pressing member does not reach the target position, move the stopper member from the origin position to a first position and increase a pressing force of the second pressing member on the first pressing member.   
     
     
         8 . The conditioning apparatus of  claim 7 , wherein
 the control motor is configured to, when the position of the first pressing member reaches the target position, move the stopper member from the origin position to a second position and decrease the pressing force of the second pressing member on the first pressing member.